Wikia is not accessible if you’ve made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected.

Contents

Explained

Details

The word Hindu is derived from the word Sindhu and signifies a person coming from the land of the river Sindhu (i.e., India). The name Sindhu is what the Hindus called the Indus River. Presently there are around 930 million Hindus living in India(2008) and several million Hindus of Indian origin living abroad (notably the USA and South Africa).

Reform movements

Because of the alarming rate of conversions during the British Raj, Hinduism in India and abroad underwent a series of reforms. The spearheading organisations being Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj. Religious leaders and political leaders like Gandhi called for reform and complete turnover of the social structuring.

Hindu nationalism

The cause of revivalist Indian nationalism, as well as Hindu nationalism fuelled these reforms. Hindu nationalism was aggressively promoted by freedom fighters.

Parttion

The 1947 Partition of India gave rise to bloody rioting and indiscriminate killing of Hindus and Muslims. This was a major factor in fuelling Hindu-Muslim animosity. What followed over the years was the laying of secular principles in the Indian Constitution. The last 60 years have been relatively peaceful in most parts of the country except with the notable exception of communal riots in 1991 and 2002.